My Demons
by Tryaurus
Summary: Puzzleshipping Songfic! Yugi goes to his twin for help in confessing his feelings for Yami and he finds himself on stage in front of the entire school with a song for his Yami. A song that describes their relationship so perfectly and speaks of his feelings so clearly, he doesn't even need to say those three fateful words until much later. I DO NOT OWN STARSET'S MY DEMONS! POLL


**A/N: Hey! I've been wanting to get a Yugioh one-shot out for ages but I was really unsure on which idea to follow through with until I realised how well one of my favourite songs fits them. I recommend you have a listen. It's My Demons by Starset. I'm testing an OC in this so be warned.**

 **THIS IS PUZZLESHIPPING! Don't like, don't read. (although I'm confused as to how you wouldn't but oh well)**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Yugioh**

 **IMPORTANT NOTES: Yami can use the puzzle's magic to sustain a temporary solid form in this one-shot. When this is set is entirely up to you. Also, I'm trialling Layla – my OC – in this because I'm planning on a story but I need to see how she goes.**

 **IMPORTANT NOTICE: At the bottom will be the possible options for the future story and if you enjoy this, I'd love for you to leave your opinion on which one I should try in a review.**

 **Music: My Demons is OWNED by STARSET, NOT by ME OR YUGI however in this story, I'm pretending Yugi and Layla wrote this song.**

* * *

 **My Demons**

* * *

"Layla?" I asked, walking into the kitchen. My younger twin sister, Layla Mutou – the only human being capable of walking around at the ripe age of 16 whilst being shorter than me – raised her head, an apple pressed to her lips. She was looking at me with the most innocent expression she could muster, as if she wasn't just about to eat another apple when she was clearly about to take a bite. Normally eating fruit would be fine but Layla has an extreme obsession over the fruit. She has at least one every hour – more if I'm not watching her – and she always has one on her. How else does she pull them out of thin air?

"Yeah?"

"I need your help with something–"

"Is this about confessing your love to Yami?" she asked gently, taking a bite of her apple. I should have known she'd guess. My sister was unnaturally perceptive and really, she was the only person I could go to about these things. I'd left the puzzle in my room for this specific reason.

"What should I do?"

Now normally coming to your younger sister for relationship advice isn't something I would recommend because in most situations it's just awkward. Night has no relationship experience either but I have no other options. Jou or Honda were a no go – probably only coming up with something perverted and being of no use at all – and Anzu…Layla had heavily advised against that. I couldn't burden Ryou with my troubles, he's dealing with his own spirit who is more than a handful and I really couldn't ask him for advice when our relationships with our darker halves were vastly different. So I was stuck with my sister who was actually helping me but–

"Game, I don't like him, at all! Maybe I even hate him. I really don't want to do anything for him."

Yup, Night and Yami don't get along. An incident in my first year with the puzzle completed when Yami had been twisted and insane from being locked up in the puzzle for so long had driven a rift between them. Yami saw her as a good friend, his second closest after me actually, but whatever he'd done – all I could get out of Layla was something about being thrown through the 5th story window of an building (the comic book floor for the record) – had made Layla hostile and antagonizing. She loved driving him up the wall and causing his temper to flare – as sweet as she was any other time. Still, after everything we've gone through, I know it's just a pretence now. Layla can't hold a grudge as long as people think she can. She ends up forgiving them, whether she wants to or not, within a fortnight, a month tops. I think it had more to do with the fact that Yami had terrified her and the thought of him taking complete control of and hurting me had created the 'grudge'. I can't blame her though. Yami is terrifying when he's angered.

"Please Night," I pleaded. "It's not for him, it's for me."

Layla sighed and took another bite of her apple.

"Okay. Are you going to walk upstairs and confess to him? I really don't see what you're so afraid of. Have you seen the way he looks at you? He returns your feelings, blind Freddy can see it!"

"How can you possibly know he likes me back?" I asked exasperated. Layla sighs and looks at the ceiling, as if she's saying a pray to some god. "Night?"

"Well," she said taking the last mouthful of apple before tossing the core in the bin. "Let's get to work. We have 2 weeks till the talent show and we're going to be participating."

I stared at her, confused. What is she–oh.

"Oh no, there is no way I'm doing that," I said vehemently, shaking my head.

"Do you love Yami?" she asked seriously.

"What?"

"I said, do you love Yami?"

"Of course I do!"

"Then go grab you guitar, we're heading to the basement. We're writing a song for you Dark Prince Charming."

"I'm not doing this," I protested. I couldn't stand up before the entire school for anything especially not to express my feelings for my darker half. Layla's scarlet and silver eyes quirked challenging at me.

"Yugi, it's that or your going to find yourself stuck in a closet with only your puzzle for company until you confess."

"You've been spending too much time around Mai, haven't you?"

"The song, Yugi?"

I sighed and resigned myself to my fate. I was going to pay for this.

"The song."

* * *

I stood back stage with my sister, my guitar resting on a chair as I paced the room.

"Yugi, you're acting like a cat who's about to be dunked in water. It'll be alright, I promise. Just pretend it's just you and me practicing or that it's just you and Yami. The song doesn't explicitly say the words so it will be okay."

"But what if he–" I began only to have my sister wrap her arms around me in a comforting hug.

"Yugi, who are you worried about? The school or Yami?"

I breathed out, trying to steady my shaky breathing.

"Yami," I whispered. It was true. At the moment, I didn't care how the school reacted because my sister was by my side but even Layla couldn't shield me from Yami's rejection.

"Game, I swear by every ruler we know of that you won't be rejected. He's your best friend and I know that he loves you. You can't see it but you two are meant for each other. You have the strongest, purest relationship between you that I admire so much. You don't base your feelings for each other off a mindless, vain crush but off selflessness, hard work, unity and friendship. That bond you share makes everyone back off. Hell, Anzu stepped down when she saw you two working together like the team, the partners you are. Everyone can see it except for you two."

Layla shook her head and smiled up at me, the silver spider web that acted like a cage for her scarlet eyes – similar to Yami's but still noticeably different in shade – shining. "You just need to show him now. Even if you can't see it just yet, show him."

The announcer called us to the stage and I took her hand.

"We do this together?"

"Together."

* * *

I stepped up to the microphone, my heart galloping in my chest. I was surprise it wasn't booming around the gym with how loud it was. I could hear the blood pumping in my ears and I swallowed hard. I could do this.

"Hey everyone!" I announced, somehow managing not to stumble over my words or stutter. "The song Layla and I will be singing and playing is one we wrote ourselves. It's called My Demons. I hope you enjoy!"

I took a deep breath and started to play.

"Mayday! Mayday! The ship is slowly sinking. They think I'm crazy but they don't know the feeling," I sang, my voice carrying throughout the entire hall. My gaze drifted over to my friends, amethyst eyes lingering briefly on each one. Yami had emerged from the puzzle that sat in Jou's lap and I smiled to myself. This song I had written and dedicated to him after all – with Layla's help of course. I wanted-no-needed him to hear this. His eyes were wide and I knew he was thinking about how I'd been treated as insane for what people had seen as a 'split personality' or when I'd been talking to him out loud and all they could see was me standing alone having an animated conversation with the air. "They're all around me, circling like vultures. They wanna break me and wash away my colours. Wash away my colours."

As I sing those lines, Layla works her magic from the drums with whatever gadget she'd gotten Jou to help her con off Seto and images – the faces of my former tormentors that Yami had tormented, rotated slowly around the walls of the gym, literally circling me. He was staring right at me now, a shocked expression replacing the usual collected composure. It had clicked to him. A smile slipped onto my face as I moved into the chorus, Layla's voice mingling with mine. I could only pray he approved. This was for him and I didn't want to disappoint.

"Take me high and I'll sing! Oh you make everything okay, okay, okay! 'Kay, okay, okay!"

Memories of my other self protecting me with every ounce of his strength and his firm guidance during duels swirled through my mind. He completed me and I knew that as long as he was by my side, everything would be okay. "We are one in the same! Oh you take all of the pain away, away, away! 'Way, away, away!"

We are one in the same. Yami and Hikari. Yin and Yang. The other half of the other's soul. Every time he took control, I knew no harm would come to me. He took all the pain away, time and time again. Layla's voice took complete control briefly.

"Save me if I become…"

"My demons!" I finished. Yami composure isn't going to be returning anytime soon and I know it. Layla's getting the kicks out of this, I just know it. That gleeful expression does not bode well for Yami's pride. The hatred – or resentment, I reckon she's warmed up to him somewhat – she has for him is not something I completely understand but I just know she's got their next few spats in the bag. I'm eternally gratefully though she helped me with this and she did it without complaining - much - about doing something for Yami. I guess she enjoy doing this as much as I do and what are siblings for anyway? She's currently the best sister in the world at the moment, even if she is enjoying Yami loosing every coherent thought and from the looks of things, also his ability to breath – if he could seeing he is a spirit.

"I cannot stop this sickness taking over," I sang, my tone turning softer and grief filled. The shadows he controls, they're a poison to everything they touch. Even he himself said they're dangerous and shouldn't be tampered with. Being pure light, a Hikari, I'm twice as vulnerable to the shadows than any other and as my sister and I are in almost constant contact with him – Layla is in contact with him 90% of the time because we're joined at the hip but I'm brushing against him and the shadows incessantly – they're infecting us. The Millennium Puzzle is protecting us for the most part but soon...Layla and I will be lost to the Shadow Realm. "It take control and drags me into nowhere."

I turn my eyes so they lock with his. Amethyst against Crimson. Gemstone against Blood. Purple against Red.

"I need your help, I can't fight this forever."

My voice has taken on an almost begging tone, pleading with him to help us. The message is received in less than a heartbeat. The pieces of the puzzle are clicking into place as guilt and horror sweep across his features. He hates the mere idea of me being hurt by anyone and I know the thought of him causing me harm makes him sick. I knew this could emotionally kill him but he can stop this. He has the power to and he knows it. He watches over and protects me with an intenseness and possessiveness that makes even Bakura and Seto back off. Layla was the one who had pointed it out and her analogy terrified yet sent shivers of pleasure down my spine. He wasn't like a father or a mother protecting his or her cubs, nor was he an elder brother standing between danger and his younger sibling. It was the fierce possessiveness of a dominant protecting his mate. "I know you're watching, I can feel you out there."

Hope gleams in the depths of those crimson eyes as Layla and I bash out the chorus once more and I know that he's heeded my call.

"Take me high and I'll sing! Oh you make everything okay, okay, okay! 'Kay, Okay, Okay! We are one in the same! Oh you take all of the pain away, away, away! 'Way, away, away! Save me if I become… My demons."

"Take me over the walls below, fly forever!" "Don't let me go!"

"I need a saviour to heal my pain, when I become my worst enemy!"

I needed him more than anything. Screw Layla's opinion that oxygen is slightly more important than love. If he wasn't here, I wouldn't be breathing. He was the only one who could save me from the shadows or protect me in general. I may have saved him from the darkness of the puzzle but he saves me from the world every day. I guess Layla's right when she calls me a love sick puppy. If only she'd stop with the animal references...

"The enemy!" Layla echoed, the music turning more ominous as the hall darkened. Layla and some of the musicians I'd roped into helping is faded out as I stopped playing, leaving only the foreboding sound of the violin pierce the silent gym. The spot light was on me, dim but seeing as everyone else was in complete and utter darkness, I was still the only thing visible.

"Take me high and I'll sing. Oh you make everything okay," I sang, my eyes searching through the darkness for those piercing red orbs that I loved so much. I was speaking just to him now, like everything else had faded away and it was just us two. Nobody else. Typhoons of emotions swirled in those crimson depths so fast and ever changing I couldn't read them. "We are one in the same. Oh you take all of the pain away."

As Layla and I began to play once more, the gym exploded into light

"Take me high and I'll sing! Oh you make everything okay, okay, okay! 'Kay, Okay, Okay! We are one in the same! Oh you take all of the pain away, away, away! 'Way, away, away!"

"Save me if I become…"

Layla's voice had taken a threatening edge and I glanced back at her briefly, watching how her eyes glinted with warning. The message was simple. Hurt my brother and I will destroy you, whether I'm a hikari no tenshi or not.

"My demons!"

"Take me high and I'll sing! Oh you make everything okay, okay, okay! 'Kay, Okay, Okay! We are one in the same! Oh you take all of the pain away, away, away! 'Way, away, away!"

Yami's arms were a shelter from the pain and suffering. He didn't do contact – except for me –but a hug from him was more reassuring then any words or actions by anyone else because I knew that they contained a promise and Yami always kept his promises.

"Save me if I become…"

"My demons!"

The crowd erupted into cheers. Jou, Honda, Ryou and Anzu were on their chairs performing a standing ovation as the entire school whistled, clapped and shouted. I grinned breathlessly back at my sister, feeling freer than I had in ages. We'd finally done it and I managed to confess in my own way without making it overly obvious.

'Thank you,' I mouthed to her and she smiled Cheshire cat style.

"No problem, Game," she replied happily, bumping shoulders with me as we made our way off the stage. "Now let's go get your man! I've been waiting for this moment for ages!"

I grinned at her amused at her antics. Maybe it's because we're twins or the fact that the puzzle has bonded itself to her slightly but Layla can see Yami as well as I can which obviously does not help the highly heated arguments they're known to have.

"I thought you hated him."

Layla blushed lightly like a child caught fibbing to their parents but quickly covered it up.

"Oh I do but there is no other worthy candidate on this entire planet, Game so I've run out of options. Besides, you two are the cutest and hottest couple I've ever seen and I know he can protect you."

I smiled and tackled my sister in a hug.

"Night, you are the best little sister in the whole universe. Thank you for everything, for tonight and every other time I've come to you about him."

She hugged me tightly back. She's the only one I know that's around our age and is half a head shorter than me so her tippy toes are barely resting on the ground as I pull her up, snuggling into each other's necks.

"Right back at you, Game. Now let's go find Yami! I've got posters and everything ready!" she babbled excitedly, dragging me off.

* * *

"Aibou."

I was standing outside the gym, the crowd slowly leaving into the night, as the others dragged Jou away from the leftovers. Yami appeared beside me, his spectral form becoming solid as he drew on the puzzle's power. He's taller than me by about a head and his skin is slightly more tanned. The same star shaped hair adorns his head but his is crimson tipped in contrast to my amethyst and he has blonde streaks through his as well whilst I just have the lightning blonde bangs.

"Mou hitori no boku."

"That was beautiful singing, aibou. I did not realise that you could. Perhaps you should do it more often."

I blushed, my shyness and fears of rejection crashing back in like wave to shore. I couldn't breathe. Now, standing here with him after pouring my feelings out into my music, I was a wreck. I could barely stop myself from shaking.

"T-thank you, Yami," I stuttered lightly, cursing myself. It was times like this I wished I had more confidence. "M-maybe I will."

Yami smiled slightly and lifted his hands from his side and pulled me into an unexpected hug. I stiffened in surprise as he pulled me tight to his chest, his nose buried in my hair while his arms wrapped protectively around me. I melted into him and embraced him back, my head resting against his chest. We remained like that for a while, perfectly content.

"That song was for me."

There was no question just an outright statement. Where he was going with this I didn't know but I simply nodded in reply.

"You wrote it yourself?"

"With Layla's help," I murmured. "Yeah, I did."

Should I say it? What if he rejects me? What if he doesn't feel the same? What if he only sees me as a friend and nothing more?

"Thank you," I said after a few moments of silence. Yami lifts his head slightly.

"Aibou?" he asked gently, confusion tinging his tone.

"For everything," I answered, conviction ringing in my words. My voice sounded stronger than I felt which was a good thing seeing as how I was a nervous wreck.

"I didn't protect you from the shadows," he said quietly, his baritone voice filled with self-loathe. "They are under my control yet I allowed them to try and taint you."

"You didn't allow them," I protested, turning my gaze to meet his. I immediately lost myself in the pools of crimson. "You didn't know!"

"I should have," he replied sternly before his eyes and face softened. "I won't allow them to touch you again."

"I know," I replied, still staring deep into those crimson depths. He was so close, his lips mere inches away but my whole body had frozen, paralysed by his commanding, dominate stare. I think understand why it was forbidden to look the Pharaoh or King in the eye. The natural silent authority, the demand of respect and obedience and the supreme dominance would paralyse even the mightiest of warriors. Nothing would ever get done. I don't believe it was intentional though because for as long as I've known him, he's never demanded anything of me or commanded me to do anything. Although right now I'd obey _anything_ he asked of me and is it just me or is he getting closer?

Yami's eyes close and suddenly, his lips are on mine. Shock races through my system and I stiffen unable to move. My eyes flutter shut and I submit to the kiss. My first kiss. Given to me by my Yami, my other half. It's soft and sweet, going no further than the gentle caress of our lips moving as one, but there is a protective dominance on his part, reminding me that I will always be protected because I'm _his_ whether I like it or not.

His hands come to rest on my waist as mine reach up and encircle his neck. I loose myself in his kiss and all coherent thought vanishes from my mind. Nothing else exists except for him and me and if I'm honest, I like it that way. Eventually, Yami pulls away slightly and rests his forehead against mine.

"I love you, aibou."

"I love you too, mou hitori no boku."

Yami places another kiss on my lips before moving to my forehead, my eyes fluttering closed.

"Oh and aibou?"

"Yes, koi?"

"I'll save you from your demons, I promise."

I smiled and wrapped my arms around his torso resting my head against his chest.

"I know you will," I whispered. "Just like always."

* * *

 **A/N: My first attempt at a scene like that. Was it okay? If anyone has any tips, please do share. My other stories are a lot darker and thus haven't reached any romance stage so I need some work.**

 **I hope you enjoyed this one shot! Here are options:**

 _ **Idea 1:**_

 **Yugi and Layla are twins who are given identical Millennium Puzzles to solve at age 6. It's a darker version of the series starting with season zero. Neither Yugi nor Layla are completely helpless in this. Yami and Atem will be twin Pharaohs and Yugi will obviously be a better duellist than Layla – that's what kills it for me some times, when the main cannon character is dwarfed by an OC.**

 **NOTE: There is also the option of just having Yugi receive a puzzle with a spirit (Yami) Layla's specialty being different.**

 _ **Idea 2:**_

 **Summary: Yugi and his sister change schools to attend Domino High. With a Dollhouse Masquerade shrouding their home life, they'd hoped school would be an escape for them. Instantly, Yugi clashes with the King of Domino High, Yami Sennen and while Yugi swears to hate him, Yami has no intention of leaving him alone. With Joey Wheeler the only one who knows anything about the elusive duo, Yami takes matters into his own hands. Layla is not impressed.**

 **Note: Basically a high school story.**

 _ **Idea 3:**_

 **Summary: Pharaoh Akhnamkamon, Prince Atem and his cousin Seth visit the Pharaoh's accomplices who run a ruthless slave trade and field. Two personal slaves are put in charge of the tour of the fields and Atem meets Yugi, an Egyptian Mau, who shows distaste and hatred for the royals. Atem, being Atem, will stop at nothing to earn the cat's trust and unearths forgotten secrets that he never would have foreseen.**

 **Note: Might be other OCs in this. Also, Yugi is a feline shifter, meaning he can take the form of any feline and his human form.**

 **Please leave your thoughts in a review and have a nice day!**

 **Tryaurus**


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